Sceptics and Believers
by Michelle Birkby
Summary: Crossover with the X-files..Mulder and Scully investigate the Stargate.
1. Meetings

TITLE: Sceptics and Believers   
AUTHOR: Michelle Birkby   
SPOILERS: SG1: Touchstone, Fifth Race; X-files: Rain King, Dreamland, The ghosts that stole Christmas, X-Files the movie   
SEASON / SEQUEL: 3 for Stargate, 6 for X-Files  
RATING: PG   
CONTENT WARNINGS: Some strong language   
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.   
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is set after rain king in the x-files universe, and after fifth race in the sg1   
  
  
JULY 4TH. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX. 12.00pm   
  
Mulder and Scully sat in a rented car, just slightly down the road from the complex. Being a rented car, the air-conditioning was up the spout. Being the fourth of July, Scully was well aware that there were better things she could be doing then sitting here waiting to be arrested. If only Mulder hadn't done that lost puppy-dog thing with his face. This was how she got into trouble last time. One minute she'd been happily doing Christmas things, Mulder had given her that I'm-all-alone-don't-you-find me-irresistible-come-with-me look, and she'd ending up lying on the floor of a haunted house, convinced Mulder had shot her.   
  
"Mulder, what are we doing here?".   
  
"I told you." he explained patiently. "Frohike tracked the trucks that arrived at Area 51 to here. Something weird's going on here.".   
  
"No kidding." she murmured. "That's our catchphrase.".   
  
"What?" he asked, scanning the horizon for the soldiers that were bound to come and pick them up any time now.   
  
"You trust Frohike?" she said, incredulously. "You trust a man who claims he can smell the perfume on Playboy centrefolds?".   
  
He turned to her, with a big cheesy grin.   
  
"You can." he said.   
  
"Oh brother." Scully whispered.   
  
  
**************************   
  
"Oh brother." Daniel said, as he stretched his hand out.   
  
"Come on Daniel, just a little more, don't fall now." admonished Jack.   
  
Daniel shot him a if-archeologists-could-kill-look, but in the position he in, all Jack could see was Daniel's butt.   
  
"I'm not happy." he whispered to Sam.   
  
"Captain Carter!" Jack called out. "Your turn. Let's see now...right hand on blue.".   
  
Sam stretched, balanced, brought all her military training to bear to keep her upright...but it was no good. She collapsed, bringing Daniel and Teal'c back down on top of her. They scrambled upright.   
  
"A most intriguing game." Teal'c said.   
  
"Yeah right." said Daniel. "I hate to say this, but shouldn't we be doing something more constructive?".   
  
"Relax Danny-boy! General Hammond's not here. In fact, hardly anybody's here. I'm in charge now.".   
  
"Talk about the lunatics taking over the asylum." Daniel muttered as he stalked away. Jack turned to Sam.   
  
"Excellent idea Carter." he said. "The memory of Teal'c playing Twister will brighten my dying days.".   
  
"He's good at it, though, isn't he?" she replied, grinning widely. "Next time its your turn.".   
  
"No, no way." Jack replied. "I have to keep up the dignity of command.".   
  
Sam snorted, but was saved from whatever she'd been about to say by a young soldier rushing up. He was very young. They'd been told that only a skeleton staff was needed this weekend so as many people as possible could enjoy Independence Day. Sam had been slightly worried that most of those selected to stay had been young, relatively untrained soldiers, but as no-one knew they were there, and there was no Stargate trips planned, they didn't really need the enormous band of hardened soldiers that usually thronged the base. SG1 had only stayed because they had nowhere else to go. The soldier snapped to attention so sharply that Sam could have sworn she heard his spine crack.   
  
Jack saluted back, frowning slightly."At ease soldier. What's wrong?".   
  
"We've arrested two intruders Sir.".   
  
Jack glanced at Sam, remembering the last intruder they'd arrested. Hathor.   
  
Jack decided to take Sam with him to see the new guests.   
  
He was surprised. A man and a woman in suits. Unless these were modern gods, they weren't Gou'ald.   
  
  
***********   
  
Mulder was surprised. He'd expected someone yelling at him for breaking protocol, not this insouciant soldier with his hands rammed in his pockets, not the woman with the perpetually curious expression on her face that reminded him ever so faintly of Scully.   
  
"Well." said Jack. "Do you want to tell me who you are, what you're doing here, and so-on? I'm sure you know the drill.".   
  
Mulder glanced at Scully. This wasn't the welcome they normally got. They'd got the guns and soldiers sure, but not the usual air of menace and secret that overhung most military bases they invaded.   
  
"You first." Mulder said. Jack shrugged.   
  
"Seems only polite." Jack agreed. "I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, this is Captain Samantha Carter. You second!".   
  
This was definitely not going like Mulder's usual interrogation. For a start, he couldn't smell cigarette smoke.   
  
"I'm Agent Mulder, and this is Special Agent Scully.".   
  
"Dr. Scully?" Sam asked.   
  
"Dr. Carter?" Scully asked.   
  
"You two know each other?" Jack asked, amazed.   
  
"We correspond by e-mail Sir." Carter said.   
  
"We met on a mailing list." Scully explained. Mulder turned to Scully.   
  
"What kind of mailing list?".   
  
"For physicists dealing with what's considered physical impossiblities, like worm-holes, time-travel and so-on." Sam explained.   
  
"Scully, I'm beginning to see you in a whole new light!" Mulder exclaimed, grinning widely. Scully ignored him.   
  
"Ok, lets skip the brilliant scientists reunion. What are you doing here?". Jack asked.   
  
"Following up on an investigation.".   
  
"Investigation of what?" Jack continued.   
  
"Lets just say it involves someone called Maybourne, and Area 51.".   
  
Sam and Jack exchanged startled glances. What the hell was Maybourne up to now?   
  
Scully noticed Sam and Jack's reaction, and stored it up to tell Mulder later. That was pretty much the role she'd assumed from the beginning. Mulder would provoke the reactions, and she would watch the fallout. She was good at it.   
  
"Let's just say you tell us everything.".   
  
"Mulder." Scully whispered. "We don't know who's side he's on, who all this involves.". Mulder nodded, but turned back to Jack and said, "I'll tell you everything if you tell me everything. I know you're connecting to other worlds here. I know there's ...stuff..at Area 51 you've bought back from...somewhere. I saw the ship. That was no Independence Day crap. That was the real thing. You tell me how you get these things, and I'll tell you what I saw at Area 51. And believe me, I think you'd want to know.".   
  
He turned back to Scully and whispered,   
  
"I trust him. He's got an honest face.".   
  
Scully gave him one of her I-do-not-believe-you-just-said-that-looks.   
  
Jack turned to Sam, who was saying,"Sir, can I remind you that what we do here is classified at the highest level?".   
  
"You can remind me, but the bottom line is, he already knows pretty much everything, and I want to know what he knows. You know Scully don't you? Don't you trust her?".   
  
"Well, yes, for someone I met on the internet, but..".   
  
"Sam, I appreciate you reminding me. It's your job and you do it well, but I'm the one making the decisions, and I'm the one who'll take the fall if it all goes wrong, ok?".   
  
He ignored Sam's protest, and turned to Mulder.   
  
"You're on.".   
  
"Sir!" Sam protested.   
  
"Mulder!" Scully protested.   
  
Jack looked at the two women, both so different physically, but both standing there with EXACTLY the same look of admonition and resignation on their faces.   
Jack shuddered.   
  
"Spooky." he said. Mulder looked up.   
  
"Yes?".   
  
************** 


	2. Your's too?

*******  
  
The four of them stood in front of the gate, the wormhole open. One of the MALPS had gone through, and Mulder and Scully had seen the images it had sent back. Jack was grinning. Mulder's mouth was open, and for once he was silent.   
  
"I don't believe it." Scully said. "I can see it, but I don't believe it. It's impossible.".   
  
"That's what I thought at first." said Sam, then turned to Scully. The two of them launched into a high speed conversation that was so full of techno-babble that the two men couldn't understand a word they said. Mulder and Jack watched as the two scientists tossed theories back and forth, and talked in words of no less than four syllables.   
  
"Yours does that too huh?" Mulder asked.   
  
"Oh yeah." Jack replied.   
  
"Jack, why are you showing two complete strangers the gate?" a slightly petulant voice came from the control room.   
  
"It's ok, Danny." replied Jack patiently. "They're FBI agents.".   
  
"Oh good, that makes it a whole lot better." Daniel replied, almost as sarcastically as Jack.   
The four of them moved up to the conference room to join Daniel and Teal'c. Jack left last, and he couldn't help but see how Mulder laid his hand lightly on the small of Scully's back as they left the room, how he bent his head down to listen intently to what she said, how she nodded, and smiled up at him. They seemed so close, so wrapped up in each other. Jack almost envied them. Jack couldn't help but wonder, how did he and Sam appear to them? Did they seem close? Did Mulder watch Jack sharing a joke with Sam, silently holding the door open for her in a moment of unspoken communication? Did he even take his eyes off Scully long enough to notice Sam and Jack?   
  
Mulder didn't, but Scully did. Scully noticed the touching, the closeness. She'd noticed the pride in Jack's eyes when Sam had been explaining the physics of the gate to her. Scully had been semi-aware of Mulder's feelings for her for a while now, ever since that interrupted kiss in the hall, but she'd held back, afraid of upsetting the delicate balance of their relationship. Now she was aware that Colonel O'Neill felt the same way about Captain Carter, but he was holding back.   
Scully could also see that Captain Carter had no idea of what the Colonel felt for her.   
  
"Daniel, Teal'c, this is Agents Mulder and Scully. Agents, this is our archeologist, linguist and all round know-it-all, Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c."   
  
Scully held her hand out to Daniel. "Dr. Jackson, I've heard of you. I studied some of your papers during some research I was doing into ancient myths of UFO's. I was very impressed.".   
  
"Thank you!" Daniel stammered.   
  
Mulder stared at Scully in surprise.   
  
"Do you know EVERYONE?" he whispered in her ear. She just smiled enigmatically.   
  
"Teal'c, is an alien." Jack mentioned casually. "Agent Scully doesn't believe in aliens." he explained to Teal'c.   
  
"Ah." said Teal'c. "Maybe I should show her 'Junior'.".   
  
"Junior?" Scully asked.   
  
"It is is the nickname Colonel O'Neill has given my symbiont.".   
  
"Symbiont?".   
  
Teal'c stood up and pulled up his t-shirt. Scully saw the cross cut into his stomach. Then she saw Junior, poking his head out. Jack winced, and looked away. Scully just stared.   
  
"Scully?" Mulder asked.   
  
"I...I really have nothing to say right now." Scully replied.   
  
Jack smiled, then asked Mulder to tell him what he knew.   
  
"We were following up an abortive mission we'd made to Area 51 some time back. We'd failed to enter the base last time, and we'd thought we'd try again. We got in, although I suspect we had help from an unknown source on the base. Someone high enough to look the other way for us. Once we got in, we saw..we saw that death glider, amazing things. Well, you know. You saw them first.   
  
Then we found ourselves eavesdropping on a conversation. Maybourne, and an unknown official. Maybourne had flooded the base with soldiers. He mentioned that he'd seen to it that SGC would be empty on the Fourth, and that then would be the perfect time, then he made a crappy joke about Independence Day.   
  
We managed to leave, again unseen, and we both got the impression that our unknown source had wanted us to overhear Maybourne's conversation. We guessed he wanted us to bring the information here. We got an ...acquaintance to track down this place, and here we are.". Mulder looked round at the suddenly serious faces around him.   
  
"Do you know this Maybourne?" Scully asked.   
  
"Oh yes. A bastard. A complete bastard." Jack replied.   
  
"I wish we knew what he was up to." Sam said. Jack got up.   
  
"Only one way to find out." he said. "I'm going there. Want to come?" he said, turning to Mulder.   
  
"I don't think we can sneak in a second time." said Mulder.   
  
"I have clearance. No need for sneaking. Daniel, you come with us. If anyone wants to know why we're there, you're checking up on that Heliopolis stuff. Carter, try and hack into their computers, find out what's going on. Just do science stuff.".   
  
"I'll stay and help." offered Scully. Mulder looked across. 'Are you sure?' his eyes asked. Her smile answered yes.   
  
"Captain Carter, I'm leaving you in charge of SGC.".   
  
Her eyes widened in shock.   
  
"Are you sure?" she asked. He smiled at the sudden apprehension in her eyes.   
  
"Who else can I leave in charge? You can do it Sam, you're perfectly capable. I trust you completly." He leaned forward, and lowered his voice. "I'm leaving Teal'c here. If anything happens, just stay behind him. He could probably stop a nuclear bomb in its tracks.".   
  
"Sir, I'm..."   
  
"...perfectly capable of looking after yourself, I know. I just have a really bad feeling about all this, and I don't want to come back and find you dead. Is that clear Captain.?".   
  
She would have argued more, but she was struck by the sudden concern in Jack's eyes. He really was worried. Things must be worse than she suspected, and he was right. Tough as she was, Teal'c was tougher, and she had other work to do. She nodded, then turned to Scully, thus missing the relief in Jack's eyes.   
  
"Scully, if anything happens, get behind the big guy and stay there." Mulder whispered to Scully.  
  
"Mulder.." she said, experasted.   
  
"Scully, I know you're a trained FBI agent, but I have a bad feeling about all this, and if something happens here, I don't think you can deal with it alone. Stay safe Scully. Promise me?" He pulled her towards him slightly, bending down so his face was mere centimetres from hers. She nodded slightly.   
  
"You too." she said.   
  
"I promise." he whispered. They stayed like that a moment, gazing at each other. Partings had become more difficult since he had almost lost her.She moved away, and broke the spell. He glanced up to see O'Neill talking to Teal'c. Teal'c glanced towards Carter and Scully, and nodded slightly, then Mulder joined O'Neill and Jackson, and they left for the helicopter pad.   
Sam watched Jack leave, nodding to her slightly as he did so. Scully watched Mulder leave, smiling to her as he did so. They felt oddly bereft. Sam took a deep breath.   
  
"Right." she said briskly, trying to shake off the dark mood that had suddenly landed on her. "I'll show you the lab, and we'll get started.".   
  
******************* 


	3. So Alike

*****  
  
Scully, Teal'c, Graham Simmons, Janet and Sam sat in the control room. Apart from a squad of very young soldiers, they were pretty much the only people on the base. It had been Janet's turn to go on duty, and Cassie (thankfully a very understanding child!) had gone on holiday with her parents. Janet had wished she could have kept Cassie with her, but now things were beginning to go wrong, she was glad she was out of it.   
  
"Maybe we should recall General Hammond and the others." Janet said.   
  
"No, that's not a good idea." Lt. Simmons said, blushing at having to contradict a senior officer. "I have no doubt Maybourne would hear about it, and we'd lose all element of surprise.".   
  
"I agree." Teal'c said, causing Graham to jump slightly with surprise. "We have the advantage now only because we have superior knowledge. Letting Maybourne know we know would take away the advantage.".   
  
"You know, we could be panicking over nothing." Sam said, staring at the gloomy faces around her. "There may be nothing going on.". She looked at Teal'c, Graham, Janet and Scully.   
  
"Yeah, right." she said. "Ok, Teal'c, get what soldiers we've got up and ready. Graham, lock out the iris and the dialling computer to everyone but ourselves.".  
  
"Including me?".   
  
"No, I want you to have access." She saw the sudden worry in Graham's eyes. He wasn't exactly cut out for this. Graham was very young, and she doubted he'd even be here if he wasn't quite so brilliant with computers.   
  
She had to give him courage. She said gently. "Graham, you're a part of my team now. I trust you, and I know I can depend on you.". He blushed, and turned to the keyboard, his back stiff with pride. Sam smiled, and led Scully out of the room.   
  
"He reminds of someone." Scully said, as soon as they were out of earshot. "Agent Pendrell. He was like that, all young and shy. Good in a crisis though."   
  
"Maybe you should call him." Sam joked.   
  
"He's dead." Scully said. 'Dead saving me.' she thought. She still felt incredible guilt over it, even now. She turned to Sam.   
  
"You act like you're preparing for a seige.".   
  
"Colonel O'Neill says always prepare for the worst possible scenario. He practices it.".   
"You think this Maybourne's bad as that?".   
  
Sam stopped and thought for a moment.   
  
"Maybe not. Maybe I am over reacting. First time I've ever commanded a base. It's just that...Maybourne's a bastard, an idiot and a complete..dick. Problem is, the people he works for are evil through and through. We've come up against them lately, and they know we're a threat now."   
  
"Who does he work for?".   
  
"You tell me.".   
  
Scully and Sam stared at each other a moment.   
  
"I'm not sure." Scully said slowly. "But I bet I know what brand of cigarettes he smokes.".   
  
***************  
  
"And the Stargate's not the only thing. We saw a spaceship." Jack said, sounding not unlike a little boy, Daniel thought. Danny lay back in his seat and closed his eyes. He hated helicopters. He could cope with planes, they were big and strong. Helicopters were such flimsy things. He wished they hadn't left Sam on her own. It was just like Jack to go charging off like that, leaving Sam to deal with whatever was going on.   
  
Daniel sighed. No, that wasn't true. Jack would never leave Sam in danger. And he did always assume the worst possible thing was going to happen. Still, he wished he'd stayed with Sam. Not that he could do much, but at least he'd be there. And he wished he didn't feel so nauseous. It didn't help that the interior still stank of the cigarettes the previous inhabitant must have smoked.   
"Spaceship?" Mulder asked.   
  
"Yeah, you know, spaceship, big, black, round, lots of twinkling lights." Mulder practically bounced out of the helicopter in excitement.   
  
"I saw one in Antarctica!".   
  
"No kidding! Hey , the second Stargate is in Antarctica - think there could be a connection?". The two men thought for a moment. Daniel wondered if he should point out to Jack how many regulations he'd just broken, then decided discretion was the better part of valour, and kept quiet. Then both the men spoke at the same time.   
  
"Have to ask Carter.".   
  
"Have to ask Scully.".   
  
They looked at each other, and shared a flash of perfect understanding.   
  
"She's smart." Mulder said.   
  
"Way smarter than me." Jack agreed.   
  
"At first I wasn't sure about her." Mulder said, almost tenderly, "but now...she's everything. I couldn't do it without her.".   
  
Jack looked at Mulder, then leaned back and smiled softly. "Same here." he said.   
  
********************  
  
"And Mulder says I was being held by these grays.".  
  
"Yeah, Jack's met them. Likes them.".   
  
"The ones we met - he wouldn't have liked them.".   
  
Sam looked up from the computer screen. "You know, we really shouldn't be discussing this.".   
  
"Think of it as a pooling of information." Scully said.   
  
"Bending the rules a little?" Sam asked.   
  
"Bending the rules a lot!" Scully replied. "I've done that a lot since I met him. I've lied to my bosses. I've worked with people I should have turned in to the authorities." She looked towards the 'Gate. "I've come to believe things I never thought possible. When we started, the lines were so clear, so defined. I was the scientist, the sceptic. He was the believer. Now...now those lines are blurred. There's no longer a clear line of separation between us. It's like we've become one being.". Her voice trailed off. Sam could see that there was more here than belief. She wandered what it was like, to belong so much to another person, that the two of you became one. She doubted it would ever happen to her. She could feel it, had come so close to feeling it, but she doubted anyone would ever feel that strongly about her.   
  
"You know." she said, slowly. "I'm a scientist too. In my way, I'm a sceptic, though not as much as Jack. He doesn't believe anything unless it happens in front of him, and then only if he can't see the strings. The arguments him and Daniel have about mythology. Daniel thinks it's all true, Jack doesn't believe a word of it. But he's come to believe. He has no choice. It's made him a better person.".   
  
"Oh, I'm not complaining." Scully said. "It's just, it used to be simpler.". She took a deep breath.   
"Anyway, back to the greys. There was a vaccine against the ones I met, but Mulder used it up, saving me. He's done that a lot, sacrificed a lot for me.".   
  
Sam said nothing. She thought of Jack. Jack had done a lot for her, but surely no more than any commanding officer would do for his captain?   
  
Scully continued. "You know, I wasn't sure about him at first. But now - I couldn't live without him." she said, smiling gently, as if aware of how ridiculous she sounded.   
  
"Me too." Sam said under her breath.   
  
"Ma'am?".   
  
Sam turned. Graham and Janet were in the doorway.   
  
"Ma'am, General Maybourne's here, and he's demanding to speak to the senior officer.".  
  
  
******************   
  
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN, 5PM   
  
"Dammit Graham, I need you to get out of here, and track down General Hammond!"   
"I'm not leaving her!".   
  
Janet stared at the young Lieutenant cradling an unconscious Sam's head in his lap. She was getting very exasperated. Communications were down. Mulder and Colonel O'Neill hadn't got back. Simmons was the only uninjured personnel left after Maybourne's drastic attempt to wrench control of the SGC by force. Janet didn't know who Maybourne was working for, but she knew enough to be very scared. What's more, since Sam was now out of action, Janet was the senior officer on the base. The last thing she needed was Graham and his dog-like devotion to Sam getting in the way.   
  
"Lt. Simmons." she said, enuciating every word carefully. "I have never pulled rank in my life before, but I'm starting now. I am senior to you, and I am ordering you to get out of here and find General Hammond or Colonel O'Neill."   
  
He looked up, then back down at Sam's pale bleeding face. She could see he was torn between obeying her, and staying with the woman he adored. She sighed, and said softly, "Graham, I am her Doctor, and her best friend. I won't let anything happen to her. Now go and get help.".   
  
He laid her down gently, nodded and got up.   
  
"She ought to have Colonel O'Neill with her." he said softly. "I'll find him." and he left, looking serious and determined.   
  
******************   
  
Mulder and O'Neill landed as Lt. Simmons was leaving. O'Neill grabbed him, alarmed at the man's pale face.   
  
"Simmons, what's happened here?".   
  
"Maybourne." Simmons replied shortly. "He wanted control of SGC. he thought he could take it while General Hammond was gone. We couldn't get in touch with the General, and then all communications went down.". He took a deep breath, and steadied himself before he continued.   
"Captain Carter refused to hand it over. Maybourne pointed out that in effect, she was mutinying. She still refused.".   
  
"Typical Sam, stubborn as a pack mule. What did Maybourne say?.".   
  
"He said, as she was mutinying, he was quite within his rights to take the base by force. She said that was ridiculous. Maybourne said he had friends in high places who could back him up. And then...and then Sir, he pulled out his gun, and shot her."   
  
****************** 


	4. Lost

**************  
  
  
Jack didn't stop to hear the rest. He ran to the infirmary as fast as he could, Mulder following hard on his heels. He reached it in record time, and practically collided with Janet.   
  
"Whoa, slow down!" she said. "She's right here, she's okay.". Jack peered over her shoulder at Sam lying on the bed, white and bandaged.   
  
"She doesn't look okay. She's not awake.".   
  
"She will be, I hope. Where did you get to?".   
  
"There was no-one at the base." Mulder replied, half-watching Jack staring at Sam's lifeless body. He knew that feeling all too well, that feeling of utter and total hopelessness, that fear that she would be gone soon, and there was nothing you could do to stop it.   
"We looked around for a while." Mulder continued. "When we returned to the 'copter, it was gone. We had to search around for alternative transport.".   
  
Daniel pushed past him into the room.   
  
"I just ran into Graham Simmons!" he cried. "What happened to Sam?".   
  
"Maybourne." Janet replied. Jack turned to watch her.   
  
"You know he threatened to take over the base, have us all tried for treason if we didn't give it to him?" she continued. Daniel nodded.   
  
"Well, Sam refused. She just stood there in front of him. She just told Graham to go and lock down the gate. Even when he pulled a gun, and pointed it straight at her, she refused. She didn't even flinch. She just said,'Colonel O'Neill gave me command of this base, and I'm only handing it back to him. I shan't leave until he tells me to.'".   
  
"What then?" Daniel asked. Jack was silent, imagining the scene. Imagining Sam, standing stock still in the face of certain death, refusing to move, because he had ordered her not to.  
  
"Maybourne fired. I ..sort of jumped him, spoiled his aim, but he got two shots off. One grazed her forehead, the other hit her in the stomach. She'd bought enough time for our forces to regroup though, and we defeated them.".   
  
She looked up, straight into Jack's eyes. He said nothing, merely blinked a few times.   
  
"Where was Teal'c?" asked Daniel.   
  
"She ordered him to go with Lt. Simmons, to make sure the iris was closed and locked. He's wounded, but he'll survive.".   
  
Daniel and Mulder left. Jack stepped forward, to Sam's side, gazing silently down at her. He looked up as Janet approached him, but before he could say anything, she said, "I know, you're staying. I brought you a chair.".   
  
"Thank you.".   
  
"You're welcome.".   
  
"No.". He touched her lightly on the arm. "I mean thank you for saving Sam's life.".  
  
She looked up, listening to the husky voice, seeing the eyes shining with tears he would not shed in front of her, and said, "It's my job, but you're welcome.".   
  
She left, turning at the doorway to see Jack sit down, and gently take one of Sam's hands.   
  
Mulder was outside, looking through the window. He'd been where Jack was now, feeling what Jack was feeling too many times before. He knew the coldness, the emptiness the other man was feeling. He felt an almost unbearable empathy for the man. As Dr. Frasier came out, he said to her,"Where's Agent Scully?"   
  
She swallowed. Sometimes she really hated her job, especially when it meant being the bearer of bad news.   
  
"We don't know. We think Maybourne took her.".   
  
Suddenly Mulder felt the coldness and emptiness too, with a blind panic.   
  
************  
  
"I need your help.".   
  
Jack glanced up at Mulder, then back down to Sam.   
  
"Not now." he said.   
  
"Yes now." Mulder insisted. "Maybourne's taken Scully. I need a 'copter pilot, and I need somewhere who knows where they've gone.".   
  
"There's lots of 'copter pilots here, and try southern Utah.".   
  
"They're all injured, and southern Utah is a big place.".   
  
"No!" Jack shouted. "I am not leaving her to chase your partner round the country! I'm sorry she's gone, but I am not leaving Sam until I'm sure she's ok!".   
  
Mulder stepped back, surprised by the man's anger.   
  
"Please." he said quietly, almost begging. "You're the last one who can help me. I have to find her.".   
  
Jack said nothing, merely stared at Sam. He could feel Mulder's desperation, but he couldn't leave her like this.   
  
"Imagine Captain Carter had been taken." Mulder pressed, "Imagine it was she who was gone, missing, and I was the only one who could help. Then you might see how desperate I am.".   
Jack imagined. Sam gone. Sam not even here in the bed, but no-where. No idea if she were dead or alive, no idea if she were in pain. Gone, and he would be helpless. He closed his eyes for a moment, unable to bear the idea of Sam not being by his side. He opened them again, and looked up at Mulder.   
  
"And imagine if it was Scully lying here. Would you leave her?" Jack asked.   
  
Mulder looked down at her, remembering all the times she had been the one lying there, how gut-wrenching it had been to leave her side.   
  
"I don't know." he admitted.   
  
"Jack." Daniel said from the doorway. "Jack, she won't be alone. I'll stay with her.".   
  
"And I'll be here too." Janet added, from behind Daniel. "You're not the only one who loves her, you know.".   
  
Jack looked at them, then back at Sam.   
  
"She's going to be ok." Janet said.   
  
Jack looked at the desperate man beside him, quietly begging for his help. "Alright." he said. "I'll take you. Danny, Janet..just please take care of her for me?" his pleaded. Danny nodded solemnly, and Jack left, pausing only to take one final glance at his Sam, lying unconscious and helpless.   
  
*************** 


	5. Found

**************  
  
  
It didn't take long for the two of them to get up in the air. Jack flew silently, fast, concentrating on his instruments, barely thinking consciously, in case his thoughts should drift back to Sam. He would kill Maybourne if he was in Utah. No excuses, no connections, no regulations could save him now. He had shot Sam point blank, with every intention to kill her. Only Janet had stopped him. Jack's blood ran cold with the thought of how close Sam had come to dying. She'd been close before, but this time, Jack felt it was his fault. He'd left her in charge. She'd refused to run from Maybourne because Jack had told her to stay put. It was his fault she was lying in the infirmary. His fault she'd been shot. His fault she was injured. His fault.   
  
As guilt threatened to overwhelm him, he glanced to the man beside him. He was hunched over, his head bent. Jack recognised the expression. Mulder was feeling every bit as guilty as he was, every bit as desperate as him. Whatever Jack felt for Sam, Mulder felt for Scully. Jack felt a sudden, intense sorrow for the man. Jack at least knew where Sam was, who she was with. Mulder had no idea.   
  
"Are you okay?" Jack asked through the microphone.   
  
"I've been better." he heard through his headphone. Mulder glanced at the stoical soldier next to him. Something in him prompted him to confess to this stranger, this man who was leaving the woman he loved to help him save Scully.   
  
"I love her, you know." Mulder said. If Jack was surprised by Mulder's sudden admission, he didn't show it.   
  
"Yes, I know." he replied.   
  
"I don't even know if she loves me. She's never said she does. I mean, when I told her, she acted like I was delusional. I don't think she knows how I feel. She's my whole life, yet I'm only one part of hers.".   
  
"I know exactly how you feel.".   
  
  
**************   
  
Back at SGC, Sam was waking up to find Daniel and Janet by her bed. As she became more awake, they told her of the man who'd stood, white-faced by the bed, holding her hand, begging her to wake up. Of how he'd cried, silently, when he thought no-one was watching. Of how he'd only be dragged from her bedside by a love that was equal to his for her. Sam listened, and learned.   
  
They arrived at the base unchallenged. Inside, all was silent. They reached the warehouse where the Stargate had been last time. Nothing. Jack could see the panic beginning to rise in Mulder's eyes, and was thankful he wasn't the man who stood between him and Scully.   
  
Then they heard it. Click, click, click, click. Both men turned fast, raising their guns to shoulder height, aiming, ready to fire.   
  
Then they saw the source of the sound. Scully's heels, echoing on the concrete floor. Mulder dropped his gun and rushed toward her.   
  
"Scully!" he cried. "I thought you were dead!".   
  
"What, again?" she joked, but as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, she held him close, and buried her face in the rough material of his jacket. God, she loved the feel of him. He pulled back slightly, put his hand on her cheeks, and tipped her face towards him, pushing her thick red hair away as he did so.   
  
"We have to stop losing each other like this." he said, only-half joking.   
"I will if you will." she replied, in the same tone  
.   
Jack watched them hug, feeling slightly voyeuristic. Would him and Sam ever get to that stage, where they could hug each other hungrily, needily, unashamedly, with no regulations in the way?   
He shook himself free of that dangerously tempting thought, and called out, "What happened?".   
Scully finally seemed to notice there was someone else there.   
  
"I'm not sure." she replied. "I think I was hit by a tranquliser dart, or something. When I woke up, here I was, with this note lying next to me.". She held the note out for the men to see. All it said was, This is not the end.   
  
Jack got back to the base in double-quick time, and raced down to the infirmary. It was deserted. For one godawful moment he thought the worst. "Sir? came a voice from behind him. He turned. Sam. Pale, shaky, but definitely Sam. Without thinking he took two steps forward and grabbed her into the tightest hug she'd ever received. At first she was surprised, then she slipped into the warmth of his arms, revelling in the sweetness of the knowledge that he loved her. She buried her face deep into his shoulder, into the roughness of his jacket. It came as no surprise to her to find she loved the feel of him.   
  
He pulled back slightly, put his hands on her cheeks, and tilted her head so he could look at her, pushing her thick blonde hair back. Then he bent down and kissed her, hard and desperately, as if was suddenly afraid of losing her. She wrapped her arms round his neck and kissed him joyously back.   
  
After Janet and Daniel had told her about Jack sitting by her bedside, she'd suddenly realised that the perfect, all-embracing love had been here all the time, right in front of her, and she'd never noticed.   
  
Jack suddenly stopped, and pulled aware, horrified by what he'd done. How could he have behaved like that, as if he had every right to hold her and kiss her, as if she belonged to him?   
"I'm sorry." he stammered. "I don't know what came over me.".   
  
Sam stared straight into those deep brown eyes, and wondered how she could have been so blind to the love in them for so long.   
  
"I know." she whispered. "And I'm not sorry." and she pulled him towards her and kissed him again and again.   
  
They stayed like that until Janet interrupted to say General Hammond as here, and he would like to know what the hell was going on?   
  
***********  
  
"Colonel O'Neill, I'm away one day, and I return to find my base in tatters, myself locked out of the Stargate room, half of SG1 injured, and two very unauthorised FBI agents running around the base - and you, incidentally, grinning like a madman ... a very happy madman.".   
  
"Umm, if you wouldn't mind pretending the FBI agents aren't here Sir, they're not here on official business?".   
  
"Do I get an explanation?".   
  
"Well, it all started when Carter, Daniel and Teal'c were playing Twister...".   
  
"Teal'c was playing Twister?".   
  
"I'll never get the story out if you keep interrupting me Sir.".   
  
  
  
THE END 


End file.
